Localization of a novel human RNA-editing deaminase (hRED2 or ADARB2) to chromosome 10p15.

RNA-editing deaminase 2 (RED2; ADARB2) is a newly identified potential double-stranded RNA adenosine deaminase. It is the third member of this family, which includes DRADA and RED1. Genes of this family are candidates for involvement in neurological diseases such as epilepsy, because of their expression patterns and described functions. All three described genes are well expressed in brain, and DRADA and RED1 have been shown to play a role in the editing of mRNAs coding for glutamate receptor subunits in vitro, thereby changing the properties of these channels, which are the main excitatory neurotransmitter receptors in brain. Here we report the mapping of the human RED2 (hRED2; ADARB2) gene. Using the sequence of rat RED2, we identified a homologous human expressed sequence tag, and subsequently designed primers in the 3' untranslated region of the hRED2 transcript to perform polymerase chain reaction amplification on two somatic cell hybrid mapping panels. This allowed us to localize hRED2 on chromosome 10p15; until now, no genetic diseases have been mapped in this region or in the syntenic mouse chromosomal region that may involve RED2.